photo (5)Instead of spending Black Friday at the mall, why don’t you do up the big shopping day craft style? The annual Carolina Designer Craftsmen Guild show starts Friday at the N.C. State Fairgrounds and is an awesome way to inject some Carolina flavor/creativity into your holiday gifts.

OK. I’m completely biased. I make at least 1/3 of my Christmas gifts every year. And one of my favorite low-key weekend pastimes is wandering around the N.C. State Fairgrounds at the flea market. So an excuse to spend the weekend at the fairgrounds perusing fine crafts, pretty much is the epitome of all I want in holiday shopping (so long as we’re leaving the Apple store out of the discussion). I’ve never been to this event before, but I have high hopes.

So here’s the deal: The show is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the Exposition Center at the fairgrounds. It features over 100 booths with everything from pottery, clay, sculpture, wearable fiber, blown glass, jewelry, metal work, wood work, furniture, photography, printmaking and mixed media, according to the show’s website.

The only catch is it costs $7 to get in, but guess what? The organizers have given me 2 free tix to give away! So how am I going to decide who gets them? (BTW, this is the first ever giveaway on GFTB). Well, I’m thinking I’ll keep it simple. If you legitimately want to go, just be the first to say so in the comments section and you get them.

photo (4)

ALSO … I saw a big sign outside the state fairgrounds that says the flea market is open for Black Friday!!!! It’s open Saturday and Sunday too.

OK. Don’t forget. First to say they want the tix to the Craftsmen Guild show gets ‘em. Happy Shopping!